Oct 28, 2022 5 min read

The cavalry is coming. The Steelers started the clock ticking on a return from the Reserve/Injured List on safety Damontae Kazee late last week and did the same with All-Pro linebacker T.J. Watt on Wednesday.

That means the team has 21 days in which it can either add those players to the active roster or leave them on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.

It appears Kazee, who suffered a fractured forearm late in the preseason, could be activated for Sunday’s game against the Eagles in Philadelphia. Watt, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, is pushing for a quick return after being out with a torn pectoral muscle since the Week 1 win over Cincinnati. But the Steelers also want to be smart with him. They don’t want him to suffer a setback by rushing his return.

Both are needed.

Watt’s absence has been obvious. The Steelers have only 12 sacks this season after leading the NFL in that statistic in each of the past five seasons – something that had never been done twice in a row by the same team before this current run by Pittsburgh.

He’s a game-changing player.

Kazee’s return, while not equally as important, is a big one, too. The Steelers signed the veteran free safety immediately after the NFL Draft this year. And throughout training camp and the offseason, it became apparent they did so with the idea that he would give them the ability to free Minkah Fitzpatrick up to do things other than play deep safety.

They’ve tried to do that at times with Kazee not available, but it hasn’t exactly worked out all that well. See the 98-yard touchdown allowed to the Bills where Fitzpatrick was blitzing from the slot with Tre Norwood back at free safety for proof of that.

Getting both of those players back will help the defense tremendously.

That, in turn, could help the offense by setting up some short fields.

• It’s no coincidence the Steelers’ record without Watt since they drafted him in the first round in 2017 is 1-9. He’s that important.
• About that offense: The Steelers had four drives in a 16-10 loss to the Dolphins last Sunday during which they ran 10 or more plays.

Those typically end in an offense putting up points of some type, even if it’s a field goal.

But those four drives accounted for 10 points.

The latter two drives came late in the fourth quarter, with both resulting in interceptions deep in Miami territory by Kenny Pickett.

That’s part of the learning process for a young quarterback and a young offense.

After watching Ben Roethlisberger’s late-game heroics for nearly two decades, it became expected to see the Steelers pull out wins in those type of situations.

But finishing potential game-winning drives or closing out games is something many young quarterbacks need to learn to do.

The fact Pickett twice put the Steelers in position to win that game was a positive. The two interceptions? Not so much.

This week’s games

Steelers (plus 10½) at Eagles: There’s a lot about the Eagles that doesn’t add up to being a 6-0 team. They are 29th in third down defense. They’re allowing 5.0 yards per rushing attempt. But being plus-12 in turnover ratio will mask some deficiencies. That said, they’re still a very good team. And the Steelers haven’t won in Philadelphia since 1965. But 10 points is a lot to give. Take the Steelers to cover in a 26-17 loss

Bengals (minus 3) at Browns: Losing Ja’Marr Chase for the next four to six weeks is a big deal for the Bengals, who were starting to look good on offense again. The Browns can’t seem to figure out that Nick Chubb needs 25 touches per game if they’re going to have a chance to win. Take the Bengals, 24-20

Broncos (plus 2½) at Jaguars in London: The Jaguars can score. The Broncos cannot. Plus, Jacksonville is a team that plays a game in London every year. So, the Jaguars will be a little more in tune with what’s involved here. Take the Jaguars, 21-16

Cardinals (plus 3½) at Vikings: The Vikings are coming off a bye and should be reasonably healthy. The Cardinals, meanwhile, don’t do anything particularly well. With Minnesota running back Dalvin Cook’s shoulder a little more healed up, take the home team, the Vikings, 27-20

Packers (plus 11) at Bills: Aaron Rodgers getting 11 points, even in a road game? That gives you an idea of how well the Bills have played at home this season. The Packers are having issues scoring. The Bills have the league’s No. 1 defense – and offense. Take the Bills, 34-17

Last Week: 2-3 ATS; 3-2 straight up.

Overall: 14-19-2 ATS; 19-16 straight up.